The present disclosure herein relates to an apparatus for testing a field emission device, and more particularly, to a field emission device aging apparatus and an aging method thereof.
A field emission device may refer to a device using a field emission effect that draws electrons from a metal surface by an electric field. The field emission device is generally composed of a bipolar structure including a cathode electrode and an anode electrode, or may be composed of a triode structure including a cathode electrode, an anode electrode, and a gate electrode for applying an electric field required for electron emission. The field emission device has advantages such as simple electrode structure, high-speed operation, and low power consumption, and may be applied to various electronic devices including display devices.
An emitter for emitting electrons by an electric field is formed on the cathode electrode of the field emission device. In order to ensure easiness of electron emission, the tip of the emitter may have a pointed shape, or nano-materials with elongated shapes may be used in the emitter. Due to such characteristics, the emitter of a field emission device has a more vulnerability to damage of the ambient vacuum decrease or arc discharge compared with the thermal electron emitter. Therefore, a seasoning or aging process may be required for stable performance of the field emission device.
The aging process may be a step of preserving the field emission device until it is stabilized by applying appropriate stress to the field emission device for a certain period of time. There is a demand for an aging process for mass production of a field emission device at low cost and high efficiency. In addition, there is a demand for an aging device for efficiently performing the aging process.